This invention relates to ophthalmic surgery and treatment. More particularly, this invention relates to a composition particularly suitable for use as an adjunct in ophthalmic surgery.
In surgical procedures involving ocular tissue such as, for example, anterior segment surgery, it is always necessary to protect the corneal endothelium from mechanical damage. Failure to provide adequate protection can result in irreparable damage to the tissue.
Presently, ophthalmic surgical procedures are carried out in a viscoelastic medium so as to prevent mechanical damage and denudation of the tissue surfaces. Sodium hyaluronate is currently widely used as the viscoelastic substance, presenting both positive and negative facets in ophthalmic surgical procedures. Positively, the hyaluronate has been reported as protecting the corneal endothelium; however, great care must be exercised in the use of hyaluronate, and in many instances, undesirable post-operative pressure increases have been noted, with dilation and, in some instances, adhesion development between the posterior capsule and the iris.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved injectionable ocular surgical and treatment adjunct.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved injectionable viscoelastic solution which is nonreactive with ocular tissues.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved injectionable viscoelastic solution which may be employed without postoperative complications in such anterior segment surgical procedures as cataract removal, corneal transplants, penetrating keratoplasty, correctional treatment of bullous rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and the like.
These and other objects will become apparent from the disclosure which follows.